by Joy Ellis
‘As if I could? It took me nearly five minutes to get up the first time.’
‘It’s not him!’ shouted Nikki. ‘Get the woman!’
Oliver looked up from his position spread-eagled on the floor. ‘Watch out! She’s carrying a syringe, it’s lethal!’ Then he slumped forward, out cold.
Carla Duchene had plunged into the room where Nikki had been held. Before she could lock it, armed officers had forced it open and taken her to the floor.
‘She’s got a syringe! For God’s sake be careful!’ shouted Nikki. Then she heard the words, ‘All clear! She’s safe.’
Safe! Nikki began to shake. She was safe.
‘Nikki!’
‘The gang’s all here!’ Nikki laughed and cried, as Gill Mercer, Rory and Dave Harris burst into the room. ‘I am really glad to see you guys!’
‘No more than we are to see you, ma’am.’ Dave knelt beside her and took her hand. ‘Are you hurt?’
But even Nikki’s useless legs felt wonderful. ‘I’m okay, my friend — well, I am now.’
She watched Carla Duchene being led outside, and felt a stab of sadness. She didn’t yet know what had sent her over the edge, but she was sure it would be a heart-breaking story.
Rory was busy going through the empty phials that Carla had left in a dish on a table. ‘Nothing to give too much concern, thank heavens. Can you move your legs yet, Inspector? Once it starts to reverse, you’ll be back to normal in no time.’
‘Just about. They won’t take my weight, but they are coming back to life.’
‘And the head?’ Gill Mercer added. ‘We saw you get clobbered on CCTV.’
‘I’ve got a tough skull, Gill. I don’t think I’ve got more than mild concussion.’
Gill smiled at her. ‘Ambulance is on its way, we’ll get you checked out. It’s over now, you can breathe again.’
‘Nikki!’ Joseph burst through the door and flung himself down beside her. ‘I thought . . .’
She gripped his hand tightly. ‘So did I. I really did.’
‘I’m so sorry. I should never have left you at that damned vigil.’
‘Bollocks! What are you, Joseph, my minder? I never liked reins, even as a tiny kid, and no one is going to tie me down at my age, that’s for sure!’
‘The super said you’d say that.’
‘Well, honestly, Joseph. We’re police officers. Shit happens, it’s no one’s fault.’ She grinned at him. ‘So if you really want to be useful, get me up. I feel like a sack of taters down here.’
Joseph scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. ‘I hear the siren, so I guess your chariot is arriving.’
‘Someone better go with her,’ said Gill Mercer, ‘Rory and I will sort out the SOCOs and a cordon for this place.’
‘Where is this place?’ asked Nikki. ‘I’ve been wondering that ever since I woke up here.’
Joseph explained. Then he turned to Gill and added, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll go to the hospital with the inspector.’
‘Of course. And ring me with an update, okay?’
Joseph carried Nikki out to the ambulance and waited while the crew checked her over and made her comfortable on a stretcher. She saw him pacing impatiently outside the vehicle and smiled to herself. When she’d looked into Carla Duchene’s empty eyes, she really hadn’t expected to see him again. The thought had been almost too much to bear. Nikki always maintained that she was a loner and needed no one, but that wasn’t really true. She did need Joseph — and the team. They were her family and her closest friends. Apart from Eve, they were all she had, and they meant everything to her.
Nikki settled back on the trolley feeling, all things considered, pretty lucky.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The hospital had reluctantly released her into Joseph’s care, but under strict head-injury instructions. They had emphasised that Nikki must not be left alone for the next twenty-four hours.
Now they sat together in the kitchen at Cloud Cottage Farm and talked about what had happened.
‘She was very sick, wasn’t she, Joseph?’
‘She spent years out in African warzones, saving lives. I guess she saw too much suffering. Some people can’t take it.’ Joseph stretched. ‘And I can understand that, having been there myself.’
‘I was hating her, but maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe she’s just another victim.’
‘That’s pretty magnanimous, considering she murdered your friend, and then proceeded to try to do the same to you.’
‘As I said before, shit happens. And it isn’t fussy. It happens to good people who don’t deserve it.’ Nikki yawned. She was exhausted and her head ached horribly, but she didn’t want to sleep. She was just happy to be sharing a quiet time with Joseph. At least her legs were almost back to normal. She could stand and walk, although she felt as if she had been kicked in the small of the back by a large and angry horse. ‘I never got around to asking about Oliver Kirton. How did he come to be out at the lighthouse? And what did she want with him?’
‘That dramatic eulogy at the vigil was his downfall. His devotion to the woman that Carla believed had killed her mother was too much for her. So he had to go.’
‘But how did she get him there?’
‘She put a note through his door. She persuaded him to meet her out at her mother’s studio on the pretext that she knew something about Helen’s murder. She said she wanted to talk to him about something before she went to the police. Load of rubbish, but Oliver was obsessed with Helen, so he fell for it.’
‘Poor Oliver. He was trying to rescue me, you know. God knows what would have happened if the big guns hadn’t arrived.’
‘Fancy a mug of cocoa?’
She smiled. ‘I used to say that to Hannah when she couldn’t sleep. Yes, I’d love one.’
As Joseph boiled the kettle, his phone, lying on the kitchen table, rang loudly. ‘Hellfire, it’s almost three in the morning!’ He held it up and saw Mickey’s name. He had already let the boy know that Nikki was safe.
‘Mickey? What’s wrong?’ He switched to loudspeaker.
‘It’s Archie, Sergeant Joe. He wants to see you and Nikki, urgently.’
Joseph threw a worried glance across to Nikki, and she nodded. ‘Okay, Mickey, we are on our way.’ He closed his phone. ‘Are you really sure that you are well enough for this?’
Her face told him to save his breath.
* * *
The Carborough was as quiet as Nikki had ever known it, to the point of being eerie. ‘I don’t like the feel of this, do you?’
‘No, I don’t.’ Joseph didn’t elaborate.
They drew up outside Archie Leonard’s house. Mickey was waiting for them.
‘Are we too late?’ Nikki asked when she saw the boy’s face.
‘No, Inspector Nik, although he won’t see the night out.’ Mickey turned and went inside. ‘Come up. He wants to talk to you.’
Nikki and Joseph eased between the silent family members, who seemed to occupy the whole house. Finally they made it to Archie’s bedroom, and he indicated that they close the door.
‘Let’s not make too much of this, my friends,’ the old man rasped. ‘I don’t have the breath for conversation, but I wanted to say goodbye and leave you with a gift.’
Oxygen tubes fed into his nose, and his breath was laboured. His chest heaved with the effort of talking. He held out a hand to Nikki, and she clasped it tightly. ‘We’ve had some interesting times, Archie, haven’t we?’
‘We have indeed. And I know that Greenborough is a better place because of the two of you. I wanted to thank you both for the sensitive way you dealt with the death of my lovely niece, and for all you’ve done for my dear grandson here. I can never repay you for your care for this boy.’ He fought back a cough and his whole body rattled with the exertion. ‘Look after each other.’ He gazed at Joseph, who nodded solemnly. ‘Now, will you go with Mickey? I have left a little something for the two of you. I hope you will appreciate it.
’
Nikki leaned forward and kissed the old man’s forehead. ‘I’ll miss you, you old villain.’
Joseph took her place. ‘Me too, sir. And I mean it when I say it’s been a pleasure knowing you.’
They went slowly down the stairs after Mickey, neither daring to speak for fear of breaking into tears.
‘This way. It’s not far.’ To their surprise, Mickey hurried back out onto the street and began to walk down the road.
‘Where are we going?’ asked Joseph, with a hint of anxiety in his voice.
‘Just along here. A couple of minutes, that’s all.’
A gift? Nikki trusted Archie, but even she was beginning to worry.
‘Here. This is it. Go in, please.’ Mickey’s voice sounded strained.
‘DI Galena, and DS Easter, Archie said you would come. Good. Come with me.’ Raymond Leonard seemed taller and more menacing than Nikki remembered.
Raymond ushered them into a small untidy lounge. ‘Sorry about this. It’s a bit of a squat, although we have it to ourselves right now.’ He pointed to two threadbare chairs and seated himself on a rather unwholesome-looking sofa. ‘I wanted to talk to you away from the rest of the family. My father says this is personal between you and him, and it’s his way of saying goodbye and have a good life.’ He abruptly stood up and beckoned them to follow him.
He walked into the kitchen, stood to one side and pointed down to the floor.
The body was lying on its back on a thick plastic builder’s sheet. There was very little blood, although it was obvious he had been stabbed several times.
Nikki swallowed and felt a tide of emotion engulf her. She reached for Joseph’s hand and clung tightly to it.
‘The scar-faced bastard won’t ever hurt or threaten you again. He damaged our family, and he damaged you.’ Raymond drew in a deep breath. ‘Father said it was important that you see his body, or you would spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulder. He said he owed you that much. And I agreed. Stephen Cox is dead and now you know that for a fact. Nikki? Joseph? I know you are police officers, and you have a job to do, but listen carefully.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Now you have seen this, it will disappear. It never happened. In a very short while there will be nothing here, just an empty room with no evidence of anything more than mice. You never saw this, but you will sleep at night.’
Nikki stared at the once handsome face of the man that had haunted them for years. Stephen Cox, the man who had killed and tormented without emotion or mercy, who had brought Joseph to within touching distance of an early grave. Stephen Cox had been a truly evil man. And now he was gone forever. She knew that no matter what, she should never condone murder. It went against everything she stood for. She knew that she should reach for her phone and call this in. In those few moments Nikki knew a lot of things, but then, in that dirty, filthy kitchen, she saw the faces of people that he had hurt. She felt that she was surrounded by the dead souls that had cried out for retribution. And now they had it, not in the manner that she would have wanted, but they could finally rest. She blinked back tears, and saw, in her mind’s eye, three beautiful girls. Three beautiful dead girls. All dead, because of this beast of a man. No, she wouldn’t be ringing this in, she and Joseph were never here.
She shook her head in disbelief, then realised that Joseph’s body was racked with silent sobs. She had never seen Joseph cry, but she understood why he was crying now. She put her arm around him, and gently said, ‘Time to go. It really is over at last.’
As they walked outside into the night air her headache intensified. She wanted to be home and away from all this, but she paused and turned to Raymond. ‘The two men who were in his pay? The ones who probably killed your relative? Fabian and Venables?’
Raymond’s face was full of distaste. ‘They were ghosts, Nikki. They disappeared into the twilight. And I hope they have gone back to the Continent where they came from, because I’d rather not meet them again.’
‘Let’s hope.’ She drew her coat around her, ‘Goodnight, Raymond, and thank you for letting us say our goodbyes to your father. We do appreciate it.’ She took Joseph’s arm and leaned heavily on him as they walked away. Over her shoulder, she called back, ‘We appreciate everything.’
EPILOGUE
Just as Nikki was locking her front door, she saw Joseph walking up the lane from Knot Cottage.
‘Just came to say have a nice evening, and you will give my best wishes to Eve, won’t you?’
‘Thanks. Of course I will.’ She looked at him suspiciously. ‘You’re looking rather smug, what gives?’
Joseph grinned broadly. ‘You know I’ve been trying to fathom out what on earth I can say to Niall about his relationship with my daughter?’
‘I know you’ve been avoiding the issue like the plague, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Ha-ha! Well, I don’t have to worry anymore, because Niall came to see me, and he did all the talking.’
‘And?’
‘He asked for her hand in marriage. All very formal. And he requested my permission before he approached Tam.’
Eyes wide, Nikki said, ‘I assume you immediately filled out the regulation paperwork?’
‘Well, I shook his hand and asked if he had the slightest clue what he was letting himself in for.’
Nikki squeezed his arm. ‘That’s brilliant! I’m delighted for the two of them. They are going to be such a great couple.’
‘I hope.’
‘They will. They are a different generation to us, with different goals and priorities. They will do well, I know it.’
Joseph wasn’t totally convinced. ‘As I said, I hope so.’ Then he broke into a broad smile. ‘Wouldn’t I just love to be a fly on the wall when her mother hears about this!’
‘Laura will love him when she gets to know him, but maybe they should hold off telling her he’s a copper.’
‘Oh no, that’s the best bit.’
‘Wicked man, Joseph.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘But hey, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow and fill you in on Eve and her mysterious message.’
‘Be sure you do.’
* * *
The supper was delicious, leaving Nikki in no doubt that this was one area in which she did not take after her mother. As soon as they had cleared away, Eve led her through to the lounge and they both settled into large leather recliner chairs.
‘Sorry to sound so evasive on the phone the other day, but this is something for a face-to-face talk, not a few words over the phone.’
Nikki felt anxiety begin to nibble at her.
‘I wanted you to have these.’ Eve passed her a large sealed envelope. ‘It is the details of my solicitor and a copy of my will. Not that I intend going anywhere in the near future, you understand. But as you are the sole heir, you should have them. They are all very straightforward.’
‘I can’t, Eve. Surely you have other relatives that are more deserving?’
‘I have no one, Nikki. Just you.’
Nikki didn’t know what to say. If this was the case, why was she going away?
‘The thing is, I’m wondering whether maybe I should have stayed away? You have been amazingly kind and understanding, but I can see that you have such a full and rewarding life, I’m just not sure if I have a part to play in it.’
She smiled and went on before Nikki could say anything. ‘I suppose, being in the RAF for so long, rather like you really, work was everything. I never knew where I’d be going or what I’d be doing next. Now, well, I can’t be doing nothing. I’m just not good at relaxing, I need purpose. So, I’ve been offered a job of sorts, helping to set up an artists’ retreat in France. You know, one of those holidays where you have classes and educational trips in the day time, then enjoy good food and good company in the evenings.’
‘It sounds great, but do you have an interest in art?’ Nikki tried to sound enthusiastic, but knew she had failed.
‘I dabble. It’s probably the only thing that hold
s my attention.’ She pointed to a framed painting of a misty morning over the marshes. An old rowing boat nestled in one corner with a grey heron perched on it, watching the still waters.
‘But that’s beautiful!’ exclaimed Nikki, and meant it.
‘Thank you. I do enjoy it.’
‘Do you go to classes, or is it a natural talent?’
‘Both really. I needed something to occupy my time, and as I used to sketch a bit when I was a kid, I thought I’d try classes. I had no expectations of being good, but it turned out I do have an eye for colour and perspective.’
‘I can see that!’ Nikki said. Then she looked away from the picture and said, ‘Don’t go, Eve. You do have a place in my life and I really don’t want to lose you again. You are my mother for heaven’s sake! There are plenty of things to do right here. Please stay.’
Eve drew in a long breath. ‘In that case, I’m not sure I like French cuisine that much anyway.’
‘How about omelettes? They are French, aren’t they?’
‘I love omelettes.’
‘Oh good! They’re pretty much the only things I can cook.’
THE END
The DI Nikki Galena books
CRIME ON THE FENS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
https://www.amazon.com/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER
DI Nikki Galena Book 2
SHADOW OVER THE FENS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHADOW-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01HHA49SY/
https://www.amazon.com/SHADOW-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01HHA49SY/
TWO BRUTAL KILLERS ARE LOOSE ON THE FENS BUT WHO CAN DI NIKKI GALENA TRUST?
Detective Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .